The Portrait of Severus Snape
by OlinaXeno3.14
Summary: Severus Snape has never been well liked by students or teachers. But as he was the Hogwarts headmaster for a year, shouldn't his portrait be hanging in the headmaster's office? In this next generation, the sorting hat is drunk, Albus must unite the four houses, a large fiery creature is tearing through the school and nothing is going as planned. Chapter two out.
1. The Sorting

**Chapter 1: The Sorting **

Scorpius looked around at the other 1st years waiting in the Entrance Hall. Most looked anxious and were pacing back and forth. Some were talking excitedly to their friends. A boy approached Scorpius.

"Hi," he said, "I'm Otto. What house do you want to be in? I hope I'm in Hufflepuff. I don't think I'll be in Slytherin, my parents are muggles, and Slytherins tend to be pure bloods–"

"Yeah, it's usually like that –" said Scorpius, trying to stick in a few words.

"Guess so, but who wants to be in Slytherin?" Otto continued breathlessly. Scorpius scowled.

"Anyway, I wouldn't mind Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw's not bad but I want to be in Hufflepuff because badgers are cute, I wanted a badger as a pet but I got a toad, which is okay, I suppose. My toad's name is Toady; hey I'm not that creative, do you have a pet? Do you have a broom? I heard first years couldn't have brooms, but haven't you ever heard of Harry Potter? I ask you…"

Meanwhile at the other end of the Hall, Albus Severus Potter was tapping his foot nervously.

"Bloody hell, Rose, what if I really do get put in Slytherin?"

"Don't listen to James, Albus," said Rose soothingly, "Harry told you the sorting hat takes your preference into account. Gee, I almost wish the feast came before the sorting, I'm starving…"

They were all interrupted by Professor McGonagall clearing her throat and beginning the welcome speech. She was the oldest teacher at Hogwarts, but was in fine fettle save for some wrinkles and grey hair. The first years shuffled into the great hall, and finally the sorting hat began its song.

"Looking back 1000 years,

I remember it crystal clear,

The four best friends you ever knew

They had a big idea.

Helga Hufflepuff, she thought of it,

And Rowena made the plan,

Salazar and Godric built it all

And made Hogwarts, tall and grand.

Then they divided it into four,

The bravest went to Gryffindor!

The smart ones went to Ravenclaw!

The cunning went to Slytherin!

The rest got stuffed in Hufflepuff!

And now, let us begin!

I'm covered in grey patches

In a wind I'd come apart

But I am here to sort you

So take a seat and let us start!"

The student's clapped and cheered, and McGonagall unrolled a scroll and began reading off names.

"Athens, Otto!"

The boy who had been talking to Scorpius earlier ran over and put on the hat, which took its time deciding and finally put him Slytherin, to his disappointment.

"Goyle, Megan!"

_"Goyle? _As in Gregory Goyle?" whispered Albus too Rose, "It can't be_ Goyle's _daughter!"

"Of course it's Gregory Goyle's daughter, how many Goyles do you know?" Rose Weasley hissed back.

"Well, she can't be a Goyle, look at her, she's shrimpy, bloody hell." That was true, Megan Goyle was a lot smaller and thinner than her father was. She went up, and the Sorting hat put her in Slytherin.

"Jordan, Nadia!" A girl with her hair in dreadlocks, no doubt Lee Jordan's daughter, skipped forward excitedly and put on the sorting hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

She took the hat off, and strode toward the Gryffindor table. After a few more people:

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Scorpius went up and placed the hat on his head, which automatically fell over his eyes. _Ah, Scorpoy Malfius, _said a voice. _No wait, Scorpius Malfoy. Sorry, had too much ale. It always kicks in once I reach the M's…_ Scorpius rolled his eyes. This was ridiculous; hats didn't drink ale, not even magical ones that sang songs. _Sorry,_ said the voice again_, anyway, Scorpy, I'll put you in… _RAVENCLAW!

Scorpius took off the hat, let it plunk onto the stool, and sauntered over to the Slytherin table. Then he noticed something was wrong.

_Ravenclaw?_

"Mr. Malfoy, the Ravenclaw table is that way" said McGonagall, as Scorpius turned back to the sorting hat. He wanted to put the sorting hat back on, tell it to put him in Slytherin, but everyone was staring at him. He sat down at the Ravenclaw table, feeling slightly stunned.

The sorting hat kept sorting, until McGonagall called out:

"Potter, Albus!"

"Oh no oh no oh no oh no…" muttered Albus, as Rose pushed him gently toward the sorting hat, "Not Slytherin not Ravenpuff, no, that's not right not Ravenclaw not Hufflepuff oh no oh no oh no oh no…"

_Well, well, Harry Potter's son…_ said the sorting hat once Albus had taken a seat. _I remember sorting him, almost put him in Slytherin, but in the end he did seem more of a Gryffindor. This one's different; I think we can rule out Slytherin for you…_

Albus breathed a quick sigh of relief, and then went back to chanting _Gryffindor, Gryffindor_, in his mind.

_Oh, I suppose, then_. GRYFFINDOR!

Grinning like a maniac, Albus ran to the Gryffindor table.

"Ha!" he said to James, "See? I wasn't put in Slytherin!"

"Shush," said James, and they both looked over to see the sorting hat deciding on Louis Weasley, the youngest son of Bill and Fleur. After a moment, the sorting hat declared him a Hufflepuff.

Weasley, Rose!"

Everyone waited…and waited… and after three minutes, people were beginning to grumble. Stupid sorting hat, why couldn't it just make up its mind? Most thought the sorting hat was deciding which house to put her in, but it was actually giving Rose a more detailed explanation about the four founders of Hogwarts, since she was curious and had asked so politely. It had done the same for Hermione Granger twenty-six years ago. The sorting hat really was a nice fellow.

"Gryffindor!" said the sorting hat, and Albus clapped along with all the Gryffindors who hadn't fallen asleep. It was getting rather late, but there was one more person to be sorting; Alexander Zeller. Luckily the sorting hat decided on Hufflepuff quickly.

Over at the far table, Otto was trying to cram as much food as he could into his mouth while jabbering on and on to the Slytherins, who pushed away from him. He was a muggle-born after all. Fortunately for him, he didn't seem to notice he was being shunned, and as Otto kept talking some of the others began to warm up to him.

At the Gryffindor table, Rose Weasley introduced herself and Albus to Nadia and the others.

"I'm Rose Weasley," said Rose, "And he's Albus sev – "

"Just Albus Potter thanks," said Albus quickly

"His middle name in Severus," teased James, "as in Severus _Snape. _Severus Tobias Snape!"

"Shut up James"

"Snape, Snape, Severus Snape…" Began James

"DUMBLEDORE!" shouted Nadia Jordan. Pretty soon, everyone had joined in on the well-known song. Albus forgot about James's teasing and took the part of Harry Potter.

Over at the Ravenclaw table, things were not going as well.

_Ravenclaw. Why Ravenclaw? _Thought Scorpius, _No one in my family has been in any house except Slytherin. Isn't the sorting hat supposed to take your choice into account?_

"You may be surprised," said a brown haired third year boy across from him, "the sorting hat's decisions are not always clear at first, but it can see your future, after all."

Scorpius Malfoy was about to respond by saying that the sorting hat had been drunk, when he noticed something odd. He had been brooding over his drink, and hadn't said anything at all.

"Hey, wait a minute, did you just –" But then the strange boy was gone. "Hey!" said Scorpius again. "No one disappears on Scorpius Malfoy!"

Scorpius then saw Otto Athens coming towards him form another table. Deciding he wasn't hungry anymore, he shoved his wand into his pocket and left off to the Slytherin common room. His father had told him the shortest way to get downstairs.

- Past the statue of Quentin Trimble

- Down the stairs (careful of the thirteenth one)

- Left by the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff's pet cat

- Through the heavy wooden door at the end of the hall and –

"Woah!" Scorpius was startled when he opened the door, because there the floor dropped out of sight. He peered down into the darkness. A hole had obviously been smashed through here, by something large. Or a spell, perhaps, but it wasn't very neat. Rocks and bits of wood were sticking out so Scorpius could climb down them.

"Lumos," he tried, but the third-year charm was too difficult for him. Instead he began to make the descent. He was a dozen meters below the doorway when he remembered that he was in Ravenclaw actually.

He rolled his eyes and began the climb back up, but on the way his foot slipped and, with a shout, he fell off. Fortunately the ground seemed soft.

He stood up on the rock-solid floor. Feeling rather smug with himself for surviving the fall, but also a bit abashed for forgetting his house, Scorpius began feeling the walls for a good handhold, but there weren't any. Guided by the faint light from the door high in the wall, he came across another door. When he opened it, there was the magnificent Slytherin common room before him.


	2. The Portrait

**Chapter 2: The Portrait in the Dungeon**

"Woah," he mouthed, "anyone can get in here." The Slytherin common room was by far the hardest to get into, and no one from any other house had entered it since the four founders were alive. Scorpius had read about that in _Hogwarts, a History._

He went back through the door and closed it out of respect. Someone had turned off the light upstairs and now it was pitch black.

"Lumos Lumos Lumos Lumos _Lumos_!" shouted Scorpius, "Oh come on!"

"Odd thing really. I would think, that the son of Draco Malfoy would be just slightly more experienced with magic," said a drawling, low voice. Scorpius looked around madly but of course he didn't see anyone. "A long, arced movement with the wand, you imbecile."

Scorpius tried the wand movement with the spell, and when his wand lit up he noticed a portrait hanging on one of the walls. It was empty, grimy, and covered in graffiti. Someone had written "Weasley is our king" in mermish along one side (Scorpius had memorized mermish when he was nine), another person had drawn a mustache and glasses in the middle of the frame. A very naughty word was faintly scribbled in a corner. At the bottom of the frame there was a plaque, with the words:

PROFESSOR SEVERUS TOBIAS SNAPE, HOGWARTS HEADMASTER 1997-1998 AD

_ Snape! Snape's portrait! _Scorpius was excited. "Professor Snape?" he asked. This time there was no answer. "You were my father's favorite professor, he told about you."

"Favorite professor, really?" Snape's face appeared in the frame, and Scorpius jumped back slightly. Severus was a frightening figure. "Your father must have explained everything in this school to you, the corridors, the moving staircases, the best ways to get utterly lost..."

"Well, he never told me the way to get to the Ravenclaw common room," murmured Scorpius indignantly.

"Ravenclaw, is it?" Something like a smile played at Snape's lips. "That's a first. Tell me, Scorpius –" he leaned in closer so that his face took up the entire frame – "Do you know where the headmaster's office is?"

Scorpius knew it was in the second highest tower, so he said yes.

"And do you know," he continued, sounding sullen and angry with a touch of sarcasm, "what is in there?"

"Well, there's fawkes, the sorting hat, and - um." Scorpius fell quiet. He knew the question he desperately wanted to ask next was the one Snape desperately wanted to answer.

"Why is your portrait here, then, and not in the headmaster's office?"

"Because _no one bothered to put it there_," Snape hissed back. "No one bothered! Not even fair, just McGonagall. _Why is that_? All I ever did was for Dumbledore! For Dumbledore's bloody army!" Scorpius backed toward the wall as Snape spoke.

"Er, right, of course" said Scorpius, "I'll – I'll tell someone about it, yeah?" He felt around for a door and there was one. Scorpius gratefully slipped through it and ran into the third year he had met earlier at the feast.

"Hello," he said, "You're lost. I can show you the way up to the Ravenclaw common room, unless you would rather go somewhere else."

Scorpius was determined not to be put off by anything else that happened here at Hogwarts. "I can find the way myself, thanks," he said haughtily, and trudged off in the other direction. When he looked back, the boy had gone through the door into the chamber with the portrait.

The Gryffindor common room was silent. Rose and Nadia were on one sofa; James had claimed the cushiony armchair for himself. Lucy and Molly Weasley, Percy's daughters, were leaning against the wall pretending to be uninterested while Teddy and Victoire were stealing glances toward them from their card game.

Albus gulped down a glass of water. He stared at them and they stared at him, and he made a faint choking sound. Nothing else happened. Rose Weasley leaned forward to get a better view, and then –

"Meow. Mrorrw. Mrrr-RRROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrr!" Albus raised his head as he roared; his face now covered in majestic fur. His hair was a long, golden mane and his eyes were fierce and yellow. The common room cheered as his head turned back to its normal state. Roxanne Weasley, who had been sitting behind him, pumped a fist in the air.

"Yes! It's a success!" She picked up the box of vanilla chocolate and held it over her head. "New Capimorph chocolates from Weasley Wizard Wheazes, just two galleons for a canister, they now come in Lion, Gorilla, Hippogriff, and Dragon!" As many of the Gryffindors gathered around her, she asked Albus how he was feeling.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he said, "But I – I think I'll go use the loo if you'll excuse me." Albus clambered out of the portrait hole and onto a staircase, which promptly shifted over to the other side. There was nothing else for it but to get off and find another way around. When he descended to the second floor, he jumped over the railing and onto another, but then his foot got stuck in the trick step.

_Sheesh, it's almost as if Hogwarts is trying to prevent me from getting anyplace at all, _he thought. There was a door to his left that turned out to be just a painting of a door. Cursing Rowena Ravenclaw, who (as the sorting hat had mentioned) designed the school, Albus turned a corner and fell through a random hole that wasn't there before.

"Oof." Albus quickly got up and brushed himself off, surprisingly not hurt. Feeling awfully dizzy, he stumbled toward one wall, and bumped into a portrait.

"Is this some sort of habit among you students?" a snarling voice said, "falling through ceilings? Or is it only first years?" Albus squinted at the portrait, trying to distinguish who it was.

"I was just searching for the bathroom," he said, "And then there was this random hole in the floor. Who are you, then? I'm Albus Sever – " he caught himself. "I mean Albus."

"What did you say your name was?" The voice was quiet now. Albus sighed. Did he have to explain this to everyone?

"Albus Severus Potter. Yes, my dad is Harry Potter, and yes, he named me after the best and worst headmasters Hogwarts ever had. Bloody hell!"

"Your middle name is Severus?"

"Yup."

The portrait was strangely quiet for a moment. Then he told Albus there was a door to his right and he should use it. "And don't," the painting continued, "come back."

Albus left, still feeling drowsy.


End file.
